Monday, May 23, 2011
Madrid Protest Strip
I know, it's in Spanish. But it's a new strip I made in support of the Madrid Protests in Puerta del Sol. Hopefully they'll be able to provide some change!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Surviving the Dead
I feel great respect for Yahtzee, the videogame reviewer of “0 Punctuation”, in "The Escapist Magazine" website. He’s a bright guy, with a fantastic sense of humor, who shows in every scathing review that he truly loves videogames and the industry they represent. Recently I re-watched a few of his older videos, mainly the one where he talks about the Left 4 Dead series.
Tom Bissell released a book recently called “Extra Lives: Why Videogames matter”. It’s a good book, not great, but good. In a pathless train of thought, Bissell relates his thoughts on several issues related to the videogame industry and he compares them to other media, with interesting results. One of them was focused on story in games. Now here’s where Yahtzee comes in.
As he has repeatedly claimed, Yahtzee doesn’t understand the concept of a good “co-op only” game, such as Left 4 Dead. Yes, they might be fun to play with for a while, and the constant human interaction brings a whole new world of possibilities to the game, but if it lacks a good single player campaign, any game can fall apart. As does, in his opinion, Left 4 Dead. This series of games have the following premise: the world has been destroyed by a deadly infection that has turned humans into flesh eating, very violent, mutant zombies. Only a few survivors resist the onslaught, four of them being the focus of every game. On co-op mode, players connect with other players and cruise through several campaigns where the purpose is to get from point A to point B, and, of course, survive. On top of that, a fascinating program in the game called “The Director” will make sure that every time anyone plays it the experience will be completely different, by adapting the game’s difficulty and situations to the players’ performance. Left 4 Dead is, above all, fun to play. It’s exciting and very engaging, and the element of surprise adds an extra thrill the players will have a hard time escaping from. However, the key element here is that with all its amazingness, Left 4 Dead’s single player campaign is worthless. Basically, it’s the same as the co-op one, but with three AI companions, incapable of making their own decisions. No story mode, no unlockables, nothing.
So is this good or bad? Interestingly enough, both Yahtzee and Bissell have very differing opinions. While one doesn’t appreciate the lack of non-online modes, the other raves about the creation of a new storytelling generation. Left 4 Dead’s storytelling doesn’t come from cut scenes or dialogue. It doesn’t come from game events or levels. It comes from the actual players and their interaction with other humans through the web, or so Bissell says. He heavily criticizes those who say that “Left 4 Dead doesn’t have a story mode”.
In the end, the experience is what matters. In my opinion, Left 4 Dead really misses a single player mode where we learn more about the infected, the world and, especially, the survivors. Who are they? Why should we care if they die? Where are they going? While the missing sections of character development help create the illusion of always playing with someone different, the information vacuum on what the plan is or what the conclusion might be hurt the game by making it feel unfinished, futile, even rushed. Having said that, I myself have played the game for an unknown amount of hours, spending a good portion of my day when I decide to pick it up on reducing the zombie headcount of the world and hacking with my axe through infected flesh.
The question remains: is story really necessary on a videogame? Or can story evolve to it’s own experience, created by the game itself and the players? In my opinion, both of them are equally plausible and not mutually exclusive. The Videogame industry is still trying to find its niche. We might not realize this, but it’s in it’s very early stages, not even a rude, crass teenager, but a toddler learning to walk. The future is bright for this new form of storytelling. It’s just a matter of figuring it out.
- Gus
Tom Bissell released a book recently called “Extra Lives: Why Videogames matter”. It’s a good book, not great, but good. In a pathless train of thought, Bissell relates his thoughts on several issues related to the videogame industry and he compares them to other media, with interesting results. One of them was focused on story in games. Now here’s where Yahtzee comes in.
As he has repeatedly claimed, Yahtzee doesn’t understand the concept of a good “co-op only” game, such as Left 4 Dead. Yes, they might be fun to play with for a while, and the constant human interaction brings a whole new world of possibilities to the game, but if it lacks a good single player campaign, any game can fall apart. As does, in his opinion, Left 4 Dead. This series of games have the following premise: the world has been destroyed by a deadly infection that has turned humans into flesh eating, very violent, mutant zombies. Only a few survivors resist the onslaught, four of them being the focus of every game. On co-op mode, players connect with other players and cruise through several campaigns where the purpose is to get from point A to point B, and, of course, survive. On top of that, a fascinating program in the game called “The Director” will make sure that every time anyone plays it the experience will be completely different, by adapting the game’s difficulty and situations to the players’ performance. Left 4 Dead is, above all, fun to play. It’s exciting and very engaging, and the element of surprise adds an extra thrill the players will have a hard time escaping from. However, the key element here is that with all its amazingness, Left 4 Dead’s single player campaign is worthless. Basically, it’s the same as the co-op one, but with three AI companions, incapable of making their own decisions. No story mode, no unlockables, nothing.
So is this good or bad? Interestingly enough, both Yahtzee and Bissell have very differing opinions. While one doesn’t appreciate the lack of non-online modes, the other raves about the creation of a new storytelling generation. Left 4 Dead’s storytelling doesn’t come from cut scenes or dialogue. It doesn’t come from game events or levels. It comes from the actual players and their interaction with other humans through the web, or so Bissell says. He heavily criticizes those who say that “Left 4 Dead doesn’t have a story mode”.
In the end, the experience is what matters. In my opinion, Left 4 Dead really misses a single player mode where we learn more about the infected, the world and, especially, the survivors. Who are they? Why should we care if they die? Where are they going? While the missing sections of character development help create the illusion of always playing with someone different, the information vacuum on what the plan is or what the conclusion might be hurt the game by making it feel unfinished, futile, even rushed. Having said that, I myself have played the game for an unknown amount of hours, spending a good portion of my day when I decide to pick it up on reducing the zombie headcount of the world and hacking with my axe through infected flesh.
The question remains: is story really necessary on a videogame? Or can story evolve to it’s own experience, created by the game itself and the players? In my opinion, both of them are equally plausible and not mutually exclusive. The Videogame industry is still trying to find its niche. We might not realize this, but it’s in it’s very early stages, not even a rude, crass teenager, but a toddler learning to walk. The future is bright for this new form of storytelling. It’s just a matter of figuring it out.
- Gus
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Behind the Scenes - Wiseguy Pictures Comic - The last few strips
Hello everyone!
Sorry I was gone for so long. Busy busy busy. But here I am again, and I bring you a small update on the last few strips I worked on.
First of all it's the Lacoste board meeting. This one didn't turn out any different from the original sketch. The only minor change was the character to the right, and I realized this after I finished it. I was actually quite disappointed about that... I really liked this version and I completely forgot about it. Anyway, here's the draft:
The next one was the Buzz Lightyear strip. Of course it's always fun to work on characters as beloved as these, and I wanted to be slightly mean to them, but only because I like them so much. In the original draft, I thought it would be fun to have a kid in it, as in their son or daughter.
And so, in the end, Buzz got a little less tired and Jessie, a complete make-over:
Sorry I was gone for so long. Busy busy busy. But here I am again, and I bring you a small update on the last few strips I worked on.
First of all it's the Lacoste board meeting. This one didn't turn out any different from the original sketch. The only minor change was the character to the right, and I realized this after I finished it. I was actually quite disappointed about that... I really liked this version and I completely forgot about it. Anyway, here's the draft:
The next one was the Buzz Lightyear strip. Of course it's always fun to work on characters as beloved as these, and I wanted to be slightly mean to them, but only because I like them so much. In the original draft, I thought it would be fun to have a kid in it, as in their son or daughter.
As you can see, Jessie is kinda bored-looking and Buzz is all excited about it. I thought it would be fun to take the approach of going with him trying to get excited about saying his motto and all that. But then I gave it a slightly darker twist (but only slightly) and made him older and tired. Same thing with Jessie, to whom I added an element of "white-trash-ness" to add to the joke. Fun fact, I drew this version of Buzz from memory.
 |
| He didn't shave, and had an itch. |
 |
| Very classy. |
So that's pretty much the way it went. I'm much happier with the finished strip than the original concept I had.
The last one is the "Where's Waldo" strip, one of my favorites. It basically remained exactly the same all the way through:
The dad lost a little bit of hair, but the guys at Wiseguy didn't want him to look too old, so I made it brown instead of gray. The designs for the parents, as well as the color patterns on their body and clothes, are all taken from Waldo. You can't see it in the finished version, but dad's pants are the same color as Waldo's.
 |
| She also had more titles on the wall! |
I'm very happy with this batch, it turned out great. Keep an eye out for the next strip, due out soon! That one also has an interesting story behind it! And of course don't forget to actually check the comic strips on the Wiseguypictures.net website! Hope you like them!!
- Gus
All artwork on this site is registered under the WGAe © Agustin Gonzalez
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Episodio 8 - Expomanga, Parte 2
Siguiendo con nuestra visita al Expomanga de Madrid, hablamos con Alvaro Muñoz, dibujante y profesor en Formación Creativa C-10. Alvaro nos habla de la profesión del dibujante, del estado de la industria, y nos enseña unos cuantos dibujos.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Behind the Scenes - Upcoming Strip - Pokemon
Can't say much about this one since it's a few weeks away, but I had the opportunity to work with some Pokémon designs, which is always fun since Ken Sugimori has always been one of my favorite videogame character designers.
Of the new generation, I'd say the design I like the most is for the water starter, the Sea Otter Pokémon (called Mijumaru in Japanese).
Here's the original sketch I drew for it:
I wanted it to look kind of badass but retaining the cuteness of the original character, since in the strip it's supposed to be about to attack.
Here's how it came out:
I think I succeeded. I'm actually quite proud of this one!
So that's a little advance on the new strip. Don't forget to keep checking the website www.wiseguypictures.net for weekly strips and videos!
Of the new generation, I'd say the design I like the most is for the water starter, the Sea Otter Pokémon (called Mijumaru in Japanese).
Here's the original sketch I drew for it:
I wanted it to look kind of badass but retaining the cuteness of the original character, since in the strip it's supposed to be about to attack.
Here's how it came out:
I think I succeeded. I'm actually quite proud of this one!
So that's a little advance on the new strip. Don't forget to keep checking the website www.wiseguypictures.net for weekly strips and videos!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sketches - Upcoming Project - Carmen
All artwork on this site is registered under the WGAe © Agustin Gonzalez
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Behind the Scenes - A Russian Doll gets an Abortion
Today, one of the most popular strips on the Wiseguypictures.net site.
OK for this one I actually had to look hard to find something interesting to put up. You'll understand what I mean soon. For starters, lets bring up what I actually managed to find:
These are the very early doodles of the strip. I tried to have three different options: one where you could see the dolls head, one from the point of view of the doll, and one where you could see everything from a wide angle shot.
I was of the idea that since the smaller dolls had been aborted, they should look dead. But the writers wanted the dolls to look stoic like they normally do, so we went with that. Now here's the part that explains what I meant before. This is the draft I made of the strip:
And here's the strip itself:
The changes are literally non-existent. The dolls on the back went from a box to a table. That's it.
It's good when things flow this well! This strip is very popular both for the joke and for the art.
- Gus
OK for this one I actually had to look hard to find something interesting to put up. You'll understand what I mean soon. For starters, lets bring up what I actually managed to find:
These are the very early doodles of the strip. I tried to have three different options: one where you could see the dolls head, one from the point of view of the doll, and one where you could see everything from a wide angle shot.
I was of the idea that since the smaller dolls had been aborted, they should look dead. But the writers wanted the dolls to look stoic like they normally do, so we went with that. Now here's the part that explains what I meant before. This is the draft I made of the strip:
And here's the strip itself:
The changes are literally non-existent. The dolls on the back went from a box to a table. That's it.
It's good when things flow this well! This strip is very popular both for the joke and for the art.
- Gus
La Parroquia del Monaguillo!
So I entered this contest to win an iPad. It's hosted by a spanish radio show called La Parroquia del Monaguillo (The Parrish of the Altarboy) but it has nothing to do with religion lol. It's a comedy show.
The first design I made was this:
It was not well received by the community of the site... Honestly, I kinda rushed it because I thought the deadline was sooner than expected.
So it didn't do very well and apparently you can only use 5 colors or something, so I had to re-do the thing. I didn't want to get rid of the drawing, so I used it for the next one. As you can see it says "Delorean" on the Vespa, trying to reference them going back in time, as the new book they have out is about the 80s in Spain. That didn't translate well apparently so I changed it a bit:
Added some 80's motifs, the time-traveling clichés of the clocks and calendars, and added the title of the book (oh, and reduced the number of colors).
This one did a little better. The contest, however, isn't over yet. You can vote if you'd like here:
http://www.pampling.com/ficha_diseno.php?id_diseno=12616
Wish me luck! :D
- Gus
The first design I made was this:
It was not well received by the community of the site... Honestly, I kinda rushed it because I thought the deadline was sooner than expected.
So it didn't do very well and apparently you can only use 5 colors or something, so I had to re-do the thing. I didn't want to get rid of the drawing, so I used it for the next one. As you can see it says "Delorean" on the Vespa, trying to reference them going back in time, as the new book they have out is about the 80s in Spain. That didn't translate well apparently so I changed it a bit:
Added some 80's motifs, the time-traveling clichés of the clocks and calendars, and added the title of the book (oh, and reduced the number of colors).
This one did a little better. The contest, however, isn't over yet. You can vote if you'd like here:
http://www.pampling.com/ficha_diseno.php?id_diseno=12616
Wish me luck! :D
- Gus
Saturday, October 2, 2010
I'm really excited about Black and White
I know, it's a "kid's game". But I've been playing it for years and the new games look awesome.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Phone Doodles - Naruto's Sasuke
Drew this while on the phone. Really liked Sasuke's face.
Not really crazy about Naruto, but I've been re-reading it recently. It's better than I remembered.
Anyway, just a doodle. Soon, more stuff. :D
- Gus
Not really crazy about Naruto, but I've been re-reading it recently. It's better than I remembered.
Anyway, just a doodle. Soon, more stuff. :D
- Gus
Behind the Scenes - Heroes in a Half-Baked Shell
Hey everyone!
Sorry it took so long to update! I don't know if you've seen the new strip at http://www.wiseguypictures.net but we've recently updated with the famous "Heroes in a Half-Baked Shell" strip. If you haven't seen it, go check it out before reading this post!! Spoiler alert!
...
Welcome back. Now that you've seen the comic strip, let me show you some behind the scenes embarrassing stuff I wouldn't show you ever. The only reason I do is so you can understand how much I like drawing :D
This is the original, very first draft of that strip. As you can see from it's very VERY low quality, it was done on the spot in my notebook.
It was a quite straight forward concept from the beginning. The complicated thing was, the second panel had to have all of the Ninja Turtles characters in it (or at least the good guys). So I got to work and I came up with a second sketch:
Fun fact: Leo's line wasn't actually on the script. I came up with that one because I never knew WTF the Foot Clan soldiers were supposed to be. It got fixed in the final product by the writers. Much better! :D
So as you can see it didn't change much from the original scribble, except by adding all those characters. Now came the REALLY hard part. Putting them all together in actual good quality.
I don't really want to give it out, but here's the final product:
Another fun fact is, the reason Michaelangelo is the one in the foreground is because he used to be my favorite Ninja Turtle. He rocks.
I'm very happy with it. As trivia, I'll say that the reason there's a TV with "Family Guy" playing in the foreground is an inside joke with the writers to repeated very similar situations we experienced... Don't tell anyone I said that.
As a final treat, I'll put up the first idea I had for the first panel. Originally I was very adamant about the fact that I wanted it to be rainy. I mean, I live in New York too, and that's very much what it looks like. In the end, the rain would've made the panel too busy, so I never ended up using it. So now for your enjoyment, my own private rejection, the original panel 1:
That's all for now. Stay tuned for much more coming up!! :D
-Gus
(All artwork in this site is registered under the WGAe)
Sorry it took so long to update! I don't know if you've seen the new strip at http://www.wiseguypictures.net but we've recently updated with the famous "Heroes in a Half-Baked Shell" strip. If you haven't seen it, go check it out before reading this post!! Spoiler alert!
...
Welcome back. Now that you've seen the comic strip, let me show you some behind the scenes embarrassing stuff I wouldn't show you ever. The only reason I do is so you can understand how much I like drawing :D
This is the original, very first draft of that strip. As you can see from it's very VERY low quality, it was done on the spot in my notebook.
It was a quite straight forward concept from the beginning. The complicated thing was, the second panel had to have all of the Ninja Turtles characters in it (or at least the good guys). So I got to work and I came up with a second sketch:
Fun fact: Leo's line wasn't actually on the script. I came up with that one because I never knew WTF the Foot Clan soldiers were supposed to be. It got fixed in the final product by the writers. Much better! :D
So as you can see it didn't change much from the original scribble, except by adding all those characters. Now came the REALLY hard part. Putting them all together in actual good quality.
I don't really want to give it out, but here's the final product:
Another fun fact is, the reason Michaelangelo is the one in the foreground is because he used to be my favorite Ninja Turtle. He rocks.
I'm very happy with it. As trivia, I'll say that the reason there's a TV with "Family Guy" playing in the foreground is an inside joke with the writers to repeated very similar situations we experienced... Don't tell anyone I said that.
As a final treat, I'll put up the first idea I had for the first panel. Originally I was very adamant about the fact that I wanted it to be rainy. I mean, I live in New York too, and that's very much what it looks like. In the end, the rain would've made the panel too busy, so I never ended up using it. So now for your enjoyment, my own private rejection, the original panel 1:
That's all for now. Stay tuned for much more coming up!! :D
-Gus
(All artwork in this site is registered under the WGAe)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Behind the Scenes - If Dr Seuss was actually a doctor...
By now you should know that I'm publishing strips at the amazing website www.wiseguypictures.net written by two extremely talented comedy writers. Well, here's the story of the first one we worked on, basically what if Dr Seuss was actually a doctor.
Now this one was probably one of the easiest ones we've done in the sense that consensus was reached early in the process. For my first design I created a Dr Seuss based on the way he actually looked, combined with the hat from his famous cat, and a little of the hairiness that characterizes most of his characters. The script had the patient saying one final line: "Are you high?!" But me, being the pretentious asshole that I am, decided not to include it (lol):
Some changes were made (basically just removing the "hairy" aspect of the Dr Seuss character), and I proceeded to create a more detailed strip. I created 2, one with the line and one without it.
As you can see, the changes from the original draft and the polished strip are minimal. Finally consensus was reached, and it was decided that it would be an alteration of the second option.
To see the final version of the strip, go to www.wiseguypictures.net and check it out! And come back soon for more behind the scenes and other stuff! :D
- Gus
Now this one was probably one of the easiest ones we've done in the sense that consensus was reached early in the process. For my first design I created a Dr Seuss based on the way he actually looked, combined with the hat from his famous cat, and a little of the hairiness that characterizes most of his characters. The script had the patient saying one final line: "Are you high?!" But me, being the pretentious asshole that I am, decided not to include it (lol):
Some changes were made (basically just removing the "hairy" aspect of the Dr Seuss character), and I proceeded to create a more detailed strip. I created 2, one with the line and one without it.
As you can see, the changes from the original draft and the polished strip are minimal. Finally consensus was reached, and it was decided that it would be an alteration of the second option.
To see the final version of the strip, go to www.wiseguypictures.net and check it out! And come back soon for more behind the scenes and other stuff! :D
- Gus
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Rejections 1 - Sonny Bono Strip FOLLOW UP!
I forgot to include the first concept art for the Sonny Bono strip.
Enjoy!
- Gus
Enjoy!
- Gus
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Rejections 2 - The M&M's Strip
Continuing the saga of the comic strips, here are some behind the scenes on a different one. Today we talk about the M&M's trip to the doctor's office.
Now I got the script for this one and drew it quite fast. Here is what I came up with:
On the way, he also lost his doctor's coat. All in all, much needed changes that made the strip a lot better.
If you haven't seen the finish product, run to www.wiseguypictures.net and check it out!
- Gus
Now I got the script for this one and drew it quite fast. Here is what I came up with:
It obviously got rejected. While I was trying to stay away from the actual characters to avoid them being the same, I went too far, making them unrecognizable.
I did salvage some things, like the background or Red's expressions:
If you haven't seen the finish product, run to www.wiseguypictures.net and check it out!
- Gus
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Work in Progress - The Legend of Zelda Parody
Not much to say about this yet, but hopefully I'll have time to actually finish it. For now, enjoy this concept art:
- Gus
- Gus
Friday, August 13, 2010
Rejections 1 - Sonny Bono Strip
By now you should've seen the super awesome website www.wiseguypictures.net where I publish comic strips written by two extremely talented comedy writers.
One of them was the "What really happened to Sonny Bono" strip, where we find out that an encounter with the Abominable Snowman from the Ski Free videogame was the reason for his demise.
For that strip, I drew this panel:
One of them was the "What really happened to Sonny Bono" strip, where we find out that an encounter with the Abominable Snowman from the Ski Free videogame was the reason for his demise.
For that strip, I drew this panel:
The writers thought that my non-pixelated interpretation of the monster might've been a little confusing, so they asked me to change it to the more recognizable version of it, the pixelated monster straight from the game:
And now, in all it's rejected glory, the first version of the strip:
Please be sure to check the finished (and far superior) version of the strip on the website, and come back soon for more drafts, rejections and original work.
- Gus
Monday, June 7, 2010
New Comic Strip Preview/Adelanto de nueva tira:
Homenaje a Jesús Martínez del Vas
Homage to Jesús Martínez del Vas
All comic strips are registered under the WGAe 2010. "BOK" is a Copyright of Jesús Martínez del Vas (JMV)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The 5th Generation
Comic Strip created for a Pokémon Website, Zonasafari.net
Tira creada para la página web Zonasafari.net
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